Metamorphosis of the Leaders
by signelchan
Summary: A shirtless guy with a million kids. An old man with a sheep-like friend. A very nice lady with a crippling secret. The nice lady's psychotic opposite. What have I gotten myself into?
1. Violet: The Guy Who Was Rejected

Something in my head told me that this wasn't right. Something told me that there was something going on here that wasn't normal. But my heart said _No, go on, it's okay. You don't have to panic. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this Gym. _My mind cared to argue with that, though. It said that if there was nothing wrong, there wouldn't have been a much larger door than what a teenage girl required. It also said that there wouldn't be so many other teenage girls here in skimpy outfits that people their age shouldn't be wearing.

I chose to go with my heart on this one.

Worst decision in my life.

But before I even get to my experiences in the Goldenrod Gym that day, I should probably explain that this wasn't the first time that I'd thought that something was wrong in Johto. It had been going on since, well, since I entered the first Gym all the way back in Violet...

* * *

><p>My childhood dream had always been to become Champion of Johto. It wasn't really something I talked about much to anyone, and when one of those kids from New Bark Town got his opportunity to do it, I was extremely jealous. Never mind the fact that I was only six at the time, and that no one would give a kid like me a Pokémon.<p>

That all changed when my parents came back from a shopping trip in one of the faraway cities, and with them they had a Mareep. It was cute, it was strong, and it was mine. For five years, I trained that little sheep, until he was stronger than any of the Pokémon in the area. (My parents had also caught some others for me, but I didn't like those as much as I liked my Mareep.)

When I turned eleven, I set out on a journey of my own, armed with my Mareep, my PokéGear, and enough money to last me weeks out in the wilderness. Did I care that I was sweeping every single Trainer's team with one hit? Nope. I just wanted to achieve that dream of mine and become Champion. Easy as that.

The first stop on my journey was the town directly north of mine, Violet City. It was a quiet place, a bit louder than Cherrygrove, but I had been there before with my parents and I knew my way around. This time, there would be no house hunting, no shopping, no chatting with townsfolk, none of it. I had one goal and one goal only in this place: take on the Gym.

Gyms were something that I had only heard of in stories, mysterious places that I knew were the gateway to the Elite Four and the Champion. In order to get anywhere close to where I wanted to go, I needed to acquire the Badges from these Gyms. But all I had heard about them was that there were eight of them, and they were headed by Leaders. A friend of my parents' had been kind enough to bestow upon me a list of the Leaders' names, right before I left on this journey.

Looking at my list when I approached the Violet City Gym, I was stunned to realize that there was no marking of which one was which. Unsure of what to do in that situation, I just took the list's word as correct and believed that, upon entry of the building, I would be fighting some person named Falkner.

That actually proved to be right, and it was there that my handy list of names proved its worth. From the looks of the inside of the building, it was home to all sorts of Flying Pokémon, a breeze for me and my Mareep. But the battle wasn't the first thing on my mind when my eyes first fell on the Leader. No, I was noticing that something wasn't right about this guy.

If he was supposed to be the "head" of this place, shouldn't he have been standing tall, confident and proud? I was looking at a man with tears in his eyes and a wistful expression upon his face. That was not the image of strength I was looking forward too, and if I, an eleven-year-old kid, could pick up on this problem, then how long was it until someone with the intention to tear this place down did?

"What are you doing there, just staring at me, kid?" the man asked, and I jumped back at the sound of his rough voice. It was really obvious at this point that he had just finished crying over something. "It's rude to watch people, you know."

"S-sorry, sir. I was just looking for the Leader. By any chance, are you Falkner?"

He slowly nodded. "I'm not interested in a battle right now, kid. I know that's why you're here. That's the only reason why people even show up here anymore. That, or they want to crush me down even more than I already am." He started choking up again, waving his hand in front of his face in an attempt to keep from becoming hysterical.

"You're crying, sir. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Help me? Just sit down and keep me company. You do that, and I'll have a battle with you." Between sobs, he got all of that out, and I felt so much pride in being asked to keep a Gym Leader company that I jumped at the idea. Not really, though. I just sat down and told him that I'd stick around as long as he needed me. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, kid."

He was right; I didn't know. "It's okay, sir. I'll manage to understand what I'm involved in soon enough. Right now, though, you need to dry your tears and calm down. Do you want the people in your town seeing you crying?"

"They don't care anymore. To this town, I'm just the Leader who can't win a single battle, let alone a woman's heart." He shrunk back for a second, while I tilted my head at this development."What, do you want me to explain what I mean by that?"

"I would appreciate it, mister Falkner."

Before starting into the story, he asked me how much I knew about the Leader system. When I said that I knew there were eight of them, and I had a list of all of their names, he cringed. "You can't hear this until you know a little about how Gyms work in Johto. All eight of us Leaders, well, we're supposed to be a close-knit family. But we're not. Clair and Morty have separated themselves from the rest of us (why, I have no idea). Jasmine doesn't open herself up to anyone, so she's an enigma we all try to unravel. And then there's Whitney. She's so perfect, but..."

"But what? She's available, isn't she? Why can't you take her and marry her like my parents married each other?"

"She doesn't associate herself with the guys. She finds herself 'too good' for the rest of us. That leaves Pryce, who is cool and all, but is really old and kind of creepy, Bugsy, who is my best friend and I will protect him with my life, me, and Chuck, who is this fat guy who I like fighting because he makes me feel useful whenever we do." Falkner leaned back, using his arms as braces. "But a guy like me, young and carefree, needs a woman in his life, not just guys."

"I'm a guy and I don;t have a woman in my life. Is that a problem?" I seriously asked, expecting an honest answer.

Instead, he just laughed. "You're funny, kid. I like you. You remind me of when I was younger."

"I don't want to remind you of you. I want to make you think of that guy from New Bark Town. You know, the one who went and became Champion?"

"You don't remind me of Ethan, though. You remind me of a younger, more spirited me. It was my reckless spirit that got me into this rivalry with Chuck, after all. I don't want you to lose the childish side you have, okay?" I nodded, and he sat back up. It had been maybe twenty minutes since we had started talking, and I could see how just having me there was lightening his mood. "Say, you still want that battle, or are you okay if we talk some more?"

I grinned at the thought of getting to whip his birds with Mareep, but I could tell there was still a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Actually, if it's okay with you, I'd like to talk some more. Could you teach me about liking girls? I doubt my parents would ever do that for me!"

"I think I could do that, kid."

"Excuse me sir, but could you please not call me 'kid' anymore? My name is Shaun. I'd rather go by my name than 'kid.'"

Taking my comment to heart, he gave me a similar request: "I'll stop calling you 'kid' if you stop calling me 'sir.' That's the kind of respect we show towards Chuck or Pryce, not me." I laughed and said I'd stop being polite instantly. "Thanks, k—Shaun."

We sat there for what seemed like hours, him telling me more about this Whitney lady that he was so fond of. From what he told me, she sounded nice, if not a bit too perfect, but I figured he was describing her as he saw her, not as she really was. Did it matter? No, because I'd get to see her for myself one day. According to my list, she was the third Leader. That battle couldn't have been too far in the future, now could it have been?

By the time we finished talking, it was dark outside and my stomach was growling. I was too nice to ask for food, though, and Falkner didn't notice that I was extremely hungry. "You ready for our battle now, kid?" he asked, to which I eagerly nodded, ignoring my rumbling tummy. All I wanted was to be Champion, after all. I didn't care if I was starving. Dreams came first.

* * *

><p>AN: So, let me give the reason for this story even existing. My friend Kami has been playing through a ROMhack called Shiny Gold, and I've been his audience. We've been having fun with this. Last night, he checked the Trainer Card and saw that the Leaders were a _bit_ out of order. From that, this story was born.

In this world, the Leaders go in the order that the Trainer Card gives. The Gyms are in the same places, but the Leaders are not. (Well, obviously, Falkner is.) Because of this change in lineup, there will be some seriously crack-y moments that would have never been dreamed of if I hadn't known the "rearranged" order.

Please review if you read. I want to know how you like me writing in first person, from a young boy's view.

I don't own Pokémon, hence why I'm writing fanfiction for it.

Signel


	2. Azalea: The Guy in the Bromance

So maybe Violet's Gym hadn't scared me as much as I had originally made myself believe. It really wasn't that bad of a place, the more I thought about it. For sure, it was much better than Goldenrod, where I was still sitting, just remembering where all I had been to get to this point.

One of the little girls in this Gym spoke to me, asking who I was and what I was doing sitting in her Gym. "The name's Shaun, and I'm questioning my sanity," was my response, coupled with a shaky laugh. She looked at my pale face and gave a very wary grin, going on about her Leader or something. I don't really remember anything about her except for her outfit: a miniskirt and a pink shirt so tight I could count each of her ribs.

That feeling of something not being right washed over me again, and in an attempt to quash my fears, I looked back at where I had been just a week earlier, in Azalea Town...

* * *

><p>No one had warned me about Union Cave, but I was strong and made it through there easily. Mareep had a lot of fun electrocuting bats the whole way. When we made it to the other side, I was greeted by a creepy-looking man with short shorts and a beard that reminded me of my dad's facial hair. That was the first moment where I really started to miss home.<p>

But there was no time for being weak! In the few days I had spent in Violet with Falkner, I learned three rules about being a man: one, always be polite to women, even when they don't deserve it; two, weakness is not an option, unless you're alone; and three, a new, clean shirt every other day at the minimum. No exceptions. This event was a test of my understanding of that second rule, and I definitely didn't want Falkner to hear that I had broken it so easily. I got past the creepy guy fairly easily, and was soon walking into Azalea Town with no idea what I was supposed to be doing there.

"Bugsy lives in Azalea," Falkner had said right before I left, "and he's a nice guy. If you go to him looking for a battle, he'll surely give you one. You've just got to be kind to him. Don't threaten him with scary Pokémon, and definitely do not talk bad about Chuck while you are there." I didn't really understand why I wasn't supposed to talk bad about Chuck. From what I gathered, he was some older gentleman who lived somewhere far from here, as listed on my Leaders list. His name was fifth; Bugsy's was second. There was no connection between the two, was there?

I was curious to see what that connection was, but my mind immediately dropped any idea of it when I saw who I assumed was Bugsy. He was a feminine-looking guy, kind of scrawny and purple-haired. Who else would be sitting on the roof of a Gym, just kicking his feet? "Hey there, sir!" I called out, waving my hand at him. "I'm looking for Bugsy..."

"Bugsy? That's me!" he said happily, jumping off the roof and landing neatly on the ground. I might add here that this particular roof was only a few feet up in the air. "Who are you, kid? Not many people come here to Azalea. They all say we're so out of the way. I don't think we are, but my opinion doesn't matter." He looked at me and grinned. "Are you a Trainer? Have you come here to challenge me?"

I nodded. "Falkner told me that you're the next Leader I've got to face."

"Of course he would! He knows how much I love having people come here and fight me! Sure, I'm not very good, but I like battles." He giggled, and I just stared at this guy. He continued: "Five years ago, this kid named Ethan came here and beat me down with his Pokémon. He took care of my town and then left. I was confused, but, you know what? I dealt with it and grew up. I fell back on my best friend, Falkner, and the only person in the world who understands me, Chuck."

"Who is Chuck?"

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when I asked that, and I could have sworn that his face lost all color. "Y-you don't know who Chuck is?"

"No, mister Bugsy, I don't." Before I go into what he said after that, I should say that I was only being polite because I felt that I had seriously hurt him. This kid couldn't have been much older than me. I didn't treat the people in Cherrygrove with any sort of respect unless they were adults. To me, kids and teens just didn't deserve politeness. But I wasn't at home. I wasn't back in Cherrygrove where everyone knew me. I was on a Pokémon journey, and I had to be on my best behavior, even if it meant being polite to an obsessive guy.

"Let me tell you about one of the greatest men on this planet. His name is Chuck. He is my other bets friend and the only person in the world who even gives an effort to understand me. He lives not too far from here, but because I'm a Leader and he's a Leader, we don't get to spend much time together. But every moment I do spend with him is like a dream come true!" He started bouncing up and down, in a circle around me. "I hope that whenever I find a girlfriend, she's as nice to me as Chuck is!"

I had to keep myself from laughing. My sides hurt, my face hurt, and my head hurt, but I couldn't laugh at his declaration of feelings for the man. "That's wonderful, Bugsy," I finally spit out after getting the urge to laugh out of the way. "I hope you find a girl someday too."

"You know what, kid? I would be perfectly happy if I didn't find a girl. But I would be happy with one, so it could go either way."

"Can I ask you a question, since you're so talkative and bubbly?"

He shrugged. "Go ahead, whatever your name is."

"I'm Shaun. And, since you know Falkner and Chuck, do you know the other Leaders?"

"Of course I do, Shaun. What kind of Leader would I be if I didn't know the people I was working with? There's us three, and Pryce, and Morty, and Clair, and Jasmine, and Whitney. Eight Leaders, all different people who don't really get along with many of the others." A nod and a smile followed that. "So, why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. I have a list of the Leaders, but they're just names. I don't have faces to put them to."

We stopped talking then, after I told him about my list. In fact, he ran off into his Gym, so I was outside in the dusk all alone. Had I _really_ just insulted him? "Why aren't you following me, Shaun?" he called back about five minutes later, his purple head peeking out of one of the Gym's windows. "Are you scared to come inside and face me?"

In all honesty, I kind of was. But, I swallowed what fear I had and made my way into his buggy palace.

* * *

><p>AN: So, the story thickens. Maybe. Does anyone know who's next (with the exception of Kami, who knows the entire order)?

I don't own anything except Shaun. Please review if you read, because I like seeing your comments, whether they're good or bad. :)

Signel


	3. Goldenrod: The Creepy Guy With the Girls

It all finally started clicking, with me sitting there inside Goldenrod Gym, listening to that girl talk a mile a minute about whatever. The Leader order I had been following up to this point was right, in a sense. Those had to be the actual Leaders, if two of them were correct. But whoever had written that list had _definitely_ mixed up at least two. This Gym was, no doubt, run by a guy.

"Excuse me, miss, but do you know of a lady named Whitney?" I coughed out, interrupting the girl's foolish babble.

Her eyes widened at that name. "Whitney's the Ecruteak Gym Leader. None of us around here really like her all that much. We can't touch her Pokémon." From that, I gathered that the type used here must not have been very good against whatever type they used in Ecruteak. Instead of telling her this, though, I let her continue. "All of us except for Leader Chuck, that is. He's not scared of anything. Especially not her!"

"You're kidding, right? The Leader here is the one named Chuck? Is he the reason why you're wearing such silly clothes?" I asked, giving her a once-over. "That can't be healthy!"

"Oh, it's really fine. Chuck's such a little girl at heart! He let us pick out our own outfits and lets us live how we want, but as long as we stay here, he's happy and we're happy."

I raised one eyebrow. "_You _chose to wear that? What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, boy. You've done nothing but insult me since you walked in here, you know. You ignore me, you say that horrible woman's name in front of me, and you insult my fashion sense! Haven't you ever heard about how to treat a lady?" She slapped me right then, straight across the face, In an attempt not to cry, I slapped her back.

"Hey, hey, hey! Cut it out! Boy, don't be hitting on my little sister like that!" a masculine voice from behind me started yelling. "She may be young, but she's not your plaything!" I was pushed out of the way by a big guy who was wearing a pair of very short shorts and a shirt that was barely covering his massive upper half. "Come on, Cresta! Tell me, did this mean boy hurt you?"

"Yes, Chuck, he did. He made me think about bad things, and he made me cry!" At that word, she burst into obviously fake tears. The big man then turned to me, with obvious anger in his eyes.

My head was grabbed, and I was pushed into a wall. "How dare you hurt my little sister like that! Would you hurt me if I had been where she was and she had been where I was?" I whispered that no, no I wouldn't have. "Exactly! Just because she's small and young doesn't mean that you get the right to be rude to her! Now you apologize to Cresta, before I bash your face in!"

"I-I'm sorry, miss Cresta! Please forgive me, and please don't bash my face in, mister Chuck!" The man let me go and I collapsed to the floor in terror. My mind was moving a mile a minute, though. I could see why Falkner had a rivalry with this man, but not a friendly one. This guy was crazy! How could a rooted person like Falkner get along with someone like this? And how was Bugsy such a fan of him? He had just thrown me against a wall!

"That's the spirit, boy! Now chin up, don't look like I hurt you!" He laughed, big and booming. "I wouldn't dare hurt a little kiddo like you! What's your business, being here inside my girls' sanctuary, anyway?"

"I've come to challenge you, I guess." My voice wasn't very loud, as I was scared that just mentioning my desire to fight would send him into a rage I wouldn't survive. "I'm on a journey to become Champion."

He looked at me for a second, with his arm wrapped around Cresta's shoulders, before he laughed. "You, challenge me? You probably couldn't even beat Cresta if you tried! How stupid do you think I am? You're trying to creep on my little sister!"

"I really am here to challenge you, though!" I retorted, raising my voice a little. If he was going to resort to physical violence (which I completely expected), I was going to stand my ground and convince him that I was telling the truth. "I have two Badges already, because I beat Falkner and Bugsy; they both told me nice things about you."

"That means nothing to me. Those two are nothing but pushovers. But me, I'm the," he pounded his chest, "real deal. I don't lose to little kids, other than my sisters." At that, he gave Cresta a little smile; she giggled and jumped up, skipping off into the mess that was the Gym. "You don't look like you could handle me."

I thought carefully about the Pokémon I had on me. They weren't very strong, and only one of them was loyal to me. That's what I got for relying only on the Pokémon my parents had gotten while they were doing whatever it was they did. In addition to that Mareep, I now had a Finneon, which I guess no one in Johto had ever heard of, and I also had a Makuhita, another strange Pokémon in these parts. Those three wouldn't be enough to take on Chuck, would they?

"I think you should just leave now, kid, and come back when you're older and stronger. I don't want to crush your spirits, not today."

A shiver went up my spine. I had been sitting here, freaking out about everything I thought this man would be, and he was none of that. Where I had thought evil, he ended up being pretty nice and caring. But to back away now, after I had gone to Violet and Azalea? No way! "Can I ask just one question before I go, Chuck?"

"If you want to, I guess. I mean, I've got all day..."

"What type do you use?"

His face lit up, as if he was really excited to tell me. "The Normal type is what we here at the Goldenrod Gym specialize in," he started, giving me the intro to an obviously-rehearsed speech, "and we here have dedicated massive amounts of time to our type. We train harder than anyone at any other Gym. We bond more with our Pokémon. We even have sleepovers here just to talk about how amazing our Pokémon are. And, as our type is only weak to one other, I have a very hard time believing that you could defeat me. So long now, kid. See you later." He turned and began to walk away.

But I was not going to let him disappear on me like that. "But Chuck! I'm new at this whole 'Pokémon' thing, really. Yeah, I've beat those other two Leaders, but you're obviously so much better than them! Can't you tell me some things about your type?"

"You're making me blush, kid," he said after a few seconds of extremely girlish giggling, "but you seem to be telling the truth." In all honesty, I was, but I wasn't nearly as stupid as I had just made myself seem. "Well, most of the Pokémon we train here are cute, just like my little sisters. They're also very strong. Few things can make them faint, with the big one being a Fighting move."

My eyes got big.

Like, really big.

A Fighting move, did he say? Makuhita, the cute little bugger, would be getting some work in this place! "Oh, I don't have any Pokémon that know those. Not on me, at least. I might have one at home. Maybe I should go back..."

"Why bother! You're here now. If you're this curious, how about I give you a test battle to see if you think it's worth it to even come back? You and one of my little sisters can fight, and if you beat them, it's worth it; if not, don't bother showing your face in my Gym again!" Instead of his usual giggles, he unleashed a booming laugh that shook me down to my core. "What do you say?"

I pretended to think about it for a second. "I like the idea, but how about instead of me fighting one of your underlings, I fight you? I want to know what I can do to you without something strong."

"Fight me? Without a Pokémon that can hurt me? If you insist!"

My hand wrapped itself tight around the Ball that Makuhita was in. Whatever trouble I was about to get into for lying to this big man's face, I didn't care. I just wanted to fight him and get my Badge. That was what mattered.

Oh, and seeing Cresta's face when I beat her "big brother." Something told me that she'd be a big part of this journey. I had to make her proud.

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter was supposed to be up last week, but I had some issues (like leaving my flash drive in another city and then accidentally deleting half the chapter) that pushed its release date to today.

But, I hope you enjoyed reading about the Chuck in this universe, who really is a little girl at heart. xD He's scary, but protective and not too mean. I like him a lot more here than how he actually is. And, if you liked this mix-up, did you catch who's next? That's right: Whitney will be written as the Ecruteak Gym Leader. And if you know what I like to do with the poor Leader of that town, well, you'd be surprised to see what I do with Whitney! (Hint: she will not be a stoner. Much.)

As for the girl named Cresta...she'll appear again later. And in a different story. My other fanfic, _Of Tag Teams and Triumphs_, is full of characters that I've lovingly created. There's one named Cresta that has some relation of some sort to Chuck. Instead of coming up with new names, I just took ones from that other story and used them here. (If you're interested in seeing how she's in that, you'd be waiting a while, but you can give that story some love!)

That's all for this week's edition of the _Metamorphosis_!

I don't own Pokémon, but I own Shaun and Cresta. Heck, I don't even own the Leader order in this. That belongs to Shiny Gold's trainer card!

Please review!

Signel


	4. Ecruteak: The Ghostly Chick

One thing was certain, I decided while walking into Ecruteak City: this place had seen better days. Everything was rundown and trashy. The store's roof was half missing. A beggar sat in front of the Pokémon Center, holding a crude sign that read Need money for joint. I did not like the atmosphere of the place, but that feeling of dread hadn't come over me. It was safe enough for me to do my business and leave.

Out of all the buildings in town, the Gym seemed to be in the best shape. There was even a small garden in front of it, with pink and purple flowers blooming vividly. That Whitney chick, even if she was a complete jerk to others, sure knew how to make her place look nice. Still, there was no creepy feeling, so I walked on inside.

Two steps in the door, and I was feeling sick to my stomach. Three, and my head was pounding. Four, five, six, and I wanted to curl up and die. But I couldn't just give in to the pressure and leave! Where there's a Gym, there's a Leader, and where there's a Leader, there's a Badge that I need! If one is to become Champion, they need eight Badges, creepy feelings or not.

I think I got to twelve steps before the sense of fear got bad enough to make me scream out in terror. "Make it stop!" I hollered. "Make it go away!" The panic slowly subsided and, from a shadow in front of me, a woman walked forward. She had a scowl on her face and looked positively ghost-like. Her skin was pale, accentuated by her short pink hair and dark clothing. Was she even real?

"No one ever stays around for this long," she murmured, gazing at me with an eerie stare. "Why haven't you fled yet?"

"I'm here to take on the Gym Leader, and nothing is going to make me back away! Not even a haunted building will slow me down!" I triumphantly crossed my arms over my chest, just to feel something hit the back of my head. The motion from it knocked me forward, and I landed flat on my face.

The ghost girl laughed. "Good going. You made the kid fall. I was going to have some fun with him."

From behind me, I heard a man speak. "You can have fun with him later. This is the first time you've said anything in weeks. We must celebrate this, my love!" As I was picking myself up off the ground, this man went up to the girl and pulled her into a kiss. I was disgusted; this chick really couldn't have been much older than me, yet there she was kissing this old man!

"What are you doing to her, you creep?" It was the first thing I thought of to say. The man turned toward me and shook his head disapprovingly, as if I had done something wrong, and he lunged toward me. He would have reached me if the girl hadn't grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him just inches from my face.

"Call me a creep again, and you'll be sorry. I won't let Whitney stop me from bashing your head in!" He spat at me, straight in the face. "You'll regret ever ticking me off!"

The ghost-y girl giggled, her laugh like bells. "Oh, Eusine, why are you so silly? The kid just thinks it's weird for someone so much older to love someone so much younger. I don't think he understands what it's like to live in a place like this, where we're the only young people..."

"Wait, you're Whitney?" I slowly asked, backing away from the scary man. "I don't believe this! I had the impression that you were a big lady. Like, bigger than Chuck!"

They both froze,

She let her hand loose.

I ran.

That man was chasing me, screaming his head off the entire way. "How dare you imply that my precious is fat! She is not! She is absolutely perfect and if I can get my hands on you, I will rip your head off for even saying such a thing about her! Get back here, now!"

"That's what you get for insulting me in front of him!" she cheerfully called out to me. In my defense, I had no idea he was going to do that when I had said what I said, so I just stuck my tongue out at her and kept running like my life depended on it. The good thing about being young in this situation was that he got tired way before I did.

In order to get back on their good side, I struck a deal with the two. I'd get them food if he wouldn't try and kill me and if she would forgive me for my dreadful mistake. They accepted this offer, and I left, just to come back not five minutes later with my arms filled with Berries. I offered one to Whitney, who happily took it.

The girl actually smiled at me for a second while she was eating that Berry. But when I smiled back, the polite thing to do, Eusine shot me dagger eyes. "So, kid, you came here to fight?" he grunted. "I could give you a fair fight, if you want."

"I didn't come here for a random battle. My goal is to fight Whitney and get my fourth Badge. Is that going to be hard?"

"Well, you're not going to fall off of the Gym's roof, so it'll be easy. That is, if you can get her to fight!" Eusine gave a maniacal laugh. "She only challenges me and other Leaders, and she only accepts challenges from people I recommend to her."

My face fell. "I'm not going to get that recommendation, am I?"

"I don't think so." He put his arm around Whitney's shoulders, but she was too busy eating those Berries to even care. "I tell her to fight the Leaders weaker than her. Her and Jasmine has a rivalry. I occasionally stir it up, just to see her fight. She always tells me afterward, 'Damn, boy, you really like watching me, don't you?' and I just laugh because it's so true."

"There are three Leaders I refuse to fight. Clair's an icy bitch. Pryce is sweet, but he creeps me out. And Morty...uhm..." Her eyes drifted down and a blissful smile overtook her face, until she looked up and saw Eusine glaring at her. "He's...uh...not into people like me."

Going back to my Leader list, I tried to piece things together. If Chuck was where Whitney was, who was Whitney overtaking? I racked my mind for the answer, until it came to me. She, Chuck, and _Morty_ had all switched, hadn't they? "What town is he in?"

"Cianwood. Kinda gross little island town where some douche stole Suicune from me about five years back. That's the only time I ever saw that blond idiot, anyway. He was just being lazy out on the island, with no one yelling at him or anything." I sort of stared at Eusine, who was examining the fingers on his free hand. "Well, it's true. The guy's lazy and I don't like him. I definitely do not want my precious trying to fight someone as bad as him."

I raised an eyebrow. "She could probably creep him out with the way she acts. I mean, she tried to possess me when I first came in here!"

"I did not!" The pink-haired girl jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at me. "The Ghosts were angry that a guy that _isn't_ Eusine entered! I had nothing to do with them attacking you, but I did get them to go away!" In the span of a few seconds, she stormed off into a corner, taking with her several of the Berries I had brought her. Eusine sighed and got up to go get her, while I just sat there wondering what had just happened.

From where they were, I could hear her yelling at him, followed by him screaming something, and then it went silent. I slowly turned to see what was going on, but the sight of it was definitely too much for my young mind to comprehend, as I turned back around fast. When they did come back, I teasingly mentioned having just seen what had gone down.

Both of them blushed a little, but it was a lot more obvious on Whitney's pale face. "What do you want out of us in order for you to keep quiet about that?" she asked me.

There were a million things I could have requested, but I picked the one that mattered most to me.

"I'd like a Gym battle, please."

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter brought me to actually like Whitney/Eusine, just so you know. And this is definitely an alternate character interpretation of Eusine. My headcanon for him is that he's completely not-straight. So...yeah. Kinda weird.

Anyway, next chapter's the one I'm looking forward to! I can't wait to post about shirtless!Morty...

I don't own anything here.

Signel


	5. Cianwood: The Shirtless Guy

Just the sight of the island made me want to burst into tears. I was finally done with the water (for now, anyway), and I could continue on with my journey. But where was I supposed to go on this island? That old man had told me that there was a Gym here for me to challenge, but I didn't see it. In fact, the only thing I saw was a Pokémon Center and a house. What kind of island was this, and why did that old guy lie to me?

But then I saw it.

A sign.

Now, I didn't normally waste my time with signs. They were typically boring, and they never really told me anything I'd like to know. But this sign, well, it was pointing in the very direction of the Cianwood Gym.

I hugged the sign, thanking it with my actions for how useful it had proven itself. The Gym, once I was headed towards it, stood out from all the rest of the buildings. It was quaint and plain like everything else I was now noticing, but it was a much larger place than all the other homes and businesses I had seen in Cianwood.

I wasn't scared to go into this place. I really wasn't. It looked like it was safe, and I liked safe. Safe was definitely good. So I walked in. The lights were dim, but I could clearly see someone laying in the middle of the floor, in a puddle. They didn't move in the five minutes I stood there, watching them, so I assumed one of two things: they were either asleep or dead. I screamed at them. I made loud noises. There still wasn't any movement, so my assumption turned to that they were dead and a sense of panic overtook me.

As I stood there, screaming my head off, I really wondered if they were actually dead and I was going to be framed for their death. How would I break that news to my parents? Would I ever get to become Champion if I was blamed for someone's death? Thankfully, my fears were not necessary, as the person, a young man, stirred.  
>"Who are you?" he groggily asked me, rubbing at his bright purple eyes. "What are you doing in my Gym?" As I thought of an appropriate response, he took his wet shirt off and threw it aside.<p>

"My name is Shaun, and I'm here to challenge the Leader, who I guess you are," I finally said after his display of shirtlessness. "So, can we fight?"

He shook his head in response to my question. "I'm not in the mood for fighting right now, Shaun. All I really want is a nice long nap. But, I'm not allowed to nap. I must stay awake, so I can sleep tonight. But I never get to sleep at night because there's always someone yelling for me to get them something." He took a deep breath. "So, Shaun, could you do me a big favor?"

"I could do anything for you, sir!"

"Actually, it's two things, but I don't think either will be too hard for you." He was right; nothing was too hard for me! "The first is to go up the stairs back there and hit the red button. That will turn on my waterfall, and I'll just meditate under there for awhile. The second is that I need you to go find someone for me."

Neither of those things sounded like it would be that much of a challenge, which I told him. "That's great! The person you'll be looking for should be up on the north end of the island. She can't be missed. She's very noticeable. If she's not up there, she's in the house. Just trust me on that. Now go turn on the water! Thank you for this, Shaun!"

I gallantly ran up the stairs and pushed that button for him. The crashing of the water didn't scare me at all, and his face looked very peaceful when I left the Gym. It struck me as odd that I didn't get his name, but I didn't mind. I could always get that from him when I returned. For now, though, I had a job: find the lady he was talking about.

She wasn't that hard to locate, thankfully. She was right where he said she would be, at the north end of the island, just sitting there, looking out at the water. The closer I got to her, though, the more I realized what he meant by her being "noticeable." This lady was _huge._ Like, bigger than Chuck. Bigger than my mental image of Whitney. But she was very pretty too, so I tried to stare at her nicely tanned face instead of marveling at her hugeness.

"Hello there, child," she said when I made my presence known (by tripping over a tiny rock). "Are you looking for someone?"

"Yeah. I'm looking for you."

She smiled and stood up, making me feel like I was tiny just because of how big she was. "Oh, you must be the assistant for the day. It's about time that he follows through with a promise..."

"Excuse me, but who is 'he?' Is that the guy at the Gym?"

"Who else would I be talking about? No one ever comes up to this end of the island if they're not from Cianwood, and I've never seen you before in my life. So, putting those facts together, I assume you're a challenger for the Gym."

I nodded. "That I am, miss. Now, I was just told to find you, nothing else. What did he mean by that? Am I supposed to go back and tell him I found you, or am I supposed to stay here and help you or what?" I tilted my head slightly to the right, waiting for my response.

"Figures that lazy bum wouldn't give you complete directions. Hon, he was supposed to send his next challenger to help me, as he's too busy trying to fight off sleep with that darn waterfall of his. I'm sorry if you thought getting to fight my dearest would be easy, but it isn't." She grabbed my hand and dragged me with her to the little house that was up there with us. The closer we got to the place, I started hearing crying, which just got louder every step. "You probably weren't expecting to have to babysit, but that's my job for you."

And that was when she opened that door, just for three little kids to run out and attach themselves to us. "Hi there big person!" the blond girl who was clinging to my leg said, looking up at me with her bright purple eyes. "I'm Allison."

"Allie, get off of him," the lady said, at which the little girl nuzzled her face into my leg. "Or not. Whatever. Do what you want, I guess. This guy here is going to help Mommy watch you guys for the next few hours while Daddy is a lazy bum and chooses sleep over his family."

The little girl, still nuzzling into my leg, began to cry loudly. This being the first experience I had ever had with a child as young as her, I just started stroking her hair. While it looked like it would have been soft and fine, it really wasn't: I chalked it up to islanders having rough hair and went on with my job. Except, you know, my job was a lot harder than just this one little girl.

Why?

Because there were actually seven of these kids.

* * *

><p>Bright and early the next morning, I stormed into the Gym, ran up the stairs to the button, which I hit, turning the water off. Then I ran back down the stairs and attempted to punch the guy in the face. He skilfully blocked my attack, but did not retaliate. "How are you, kid?" he asked me, laughing as I glared at him.<p>

"How am I? How am_ I_? Where were you?"

"I was here, like I am every night. Why? Did something happen?"

I puffed my cheeks out in anger while I came up with the perfect response to that. When the words were all straight in my head, I let loose: "You made me stay with your psychotic woman and _seven annoying children._" He just looked at me for a second, before my words sunk in. He tried to respond, but I wouldn't hear of it. "Those brats kept pulling on my hair and getting stuff all over my clothes and they even harassed my Pokémon! How dare you make me stay there with them!"

"I-I'm sorry, but what? You actually stayed? But you don't look tired!"

"Tired? Listen, I am beyond tired. Every time I would finally lay down to get sleep, one of those kids would start crying, and then they all would be screaming at me to get them something or this or that or anything! And your wife wouldn't dare help me, oh no," I huffed a little, before continuing with. "What in Ho-Oh's name inspired you two to have _that many children_?"

Once again, he stared at me for a second before responding. "I don't know. There's not much else to do here, I guess."

"You run a Gym! You could spend all your time training, not making love to your wife!" I really was furious. I felt like I had been used for his personal gain, but then he collapsed right in front of me. I dropped to my knees and shook his limp body for a few minutes, before deciding that he had caused enough trouble in my life and that I was just going to leave. Forget about being Champion. This man had just crushed my dreams.

But by the time I had gotten outside and was walking toward the beach to leave, I realized just how stupid that idea was. So what if he had used me? There was obviously something wrong with him, and he just wanted all the help he could get. I mean, seven kids? That's a lot for someone with a job like his to handle. And what had I done? I had made him lose his calm spot (his waterfall) and now he was dead to the world on the floor of the Gym. Figuring that there was not much else I could do except go back and help him, I did just that.

When I got to his side, though, he was just laying there, with his glassy purple eyes staring out into the room. "I'm so sorry that I made you deal with her," he whispered. "No person, other than me, should have to handle her. She is my responsibility, not yours..."

"But you stay in here all the time! If she's your responsibility, you should just give up your job as Leader and go help her raise all those kids!"

"I would if I could, but there's no one else in Johto who would take my position. Living out here in Cianwood, there really isn't much else to do other than lay around." He sighed. "I don't know how to tell you this, but all of the other Leaders have been taught to hate us. Hate this place. Hate everything that we stand for here."

I stuck my hand out and he grabbed it, pulling himself up. It was at this time that I noticed that his shirtless torso was covered in bruises and scars, from what I wasn't sure. "I don't hate it here, just so you know, mister."

"Yeah, well, try living here for a while."

My eyes widened, but I shook my head furiously. "No, no thanks. I would cry if I ever had to see any of those children again."

"I do cry every time I see them. They're a curse. Everything about them is a 'take that' to me and my wife, who are both native to this island and were raised on the legend that people from Cianwood tend to have no problem creating life. Yet she doesn't seem to mind that our family makes up half the island's population." I raised an eyebrow, but I didn't question him. "So, kid, are you interested in a battle to make up for everything?"

I nodded. "But not until I know what your name is, sir." I had an inkling as to what it was, but I needed to hear him say it.

"My name is Morty, the Cianwood Gym Leader. I challenge you to a battle, if you don't mind."

As I grabbed one of my Pokéballs, I smiled. I didn't mind.

* * *

><p>AN: Three things about this chapter:

1. I really enjoy writing Morty as a straight man.

2. I love the idea that Cianwood people have nothing more to do with their lives than reproduce.

3. I italics-spammed a lot.

What did you think of the chapter? I'm not scared to see your thoughts! :) Also, the "old man" at the beginning will be addressed in the next edition of the _Metamorphosis_!

I do not own Pokémon.

Signel


	6. Olivine: The Old Man With The 'Mon

"What do you mean?" I asked the man, who was standing in front of Olivine's Gym's doors. "I already went to Cianwood. I already fought Morty. I even took care of his kids for him! Why can't I fight the Leader yet?"

The old man smiled at me, his eyes surrounded by little squinty wrinkles. "Because I say so. I said so last time, too. I don't feel like fighting right now. Come back in a few minutes."

I sighed and walked away, choosing to sit out on the beach while I waited for the minutes to pass. That old man had caused me nothing but trouble since I had first come to Olivine back after beating Whitney in Ecruteak. He had been standing in front of the Gym when I had first arrived, and he told me that the Leader didn't want to accept challengers at that time and that I should take my fighting spirit across the sea to Cianwood. So I took the Lumineon that my parents had gotten me and went across the water on its back.

Then all the adventures I had in Cianwood occurred, and now I was back in Olivine to fight the Leader. But that old man was still there, telling me that I couldn't. That was why I was sitting where I was, just looking out on the water and remembering what had happened over the past few days. I turned around and looked back up at the Gym, where the old man was still standing. My eyes instinctively rolled, and I got back up to go talk to him again.

"You're back. And it hasn't been five minutes," he said to me. "Are you really that impatient, kid?"

"Yes, I am! I really want to fight the Leader!"

The old man, for one reason or another, decided right then would be a perfect time to visit the lighthouse's Pokémon. The thing about this was that he decided I should go with him. And even though I had been and was still fighting him that I should get that battle in before we went to visit, he wouldn't listen. So I got dragged to the very top floor of the Glitter Lighthouse, completely against my will.

"All of my vacations are spent up here, boy," he told me. "I couldn't bear to leave Amphy without a guardian for more than a week." The Ampharos that was sitting up there bleated in agreement, letting its tail glisten, filling up the room with blinding light.

"That's great, sir, but I really want to take care of that battle now, so if we could just go back to the Gym, I'd rea—"

He gave me a stern look. "Kid, do you love your parents?"

"Yeah! They gave me my—"

"Would you be sad to lose them?" It was a stupid question, so I gave him a very sarcastic answer. "Amphy lost his parents to poachers. I am the only parental figure in his life. Would you like it if someone left you to die, and the person who took you in always abandoned you?"

I looked at the guy with a crazy expression on my face. "Why would you ask such a ridiculous question, man? Of course I wouldn't like that! Why would my parents be killed, anyway?"

"It was just to make you think. Don't get all defensive about the topic." The old man stepped closer to the Ampharos. "Turn here, Amphy. It's me, your old buddy Pryce. Remember me?"

The Pokémon bleated again. "Does it see you?"

"Amphy can't see. no. His vision was taken from him by those poachers. But he can sense light and dark. Perfect for a Pokémon that lights up the night sky for sailors on the sea." Pryce began to stroke the Ampharos, who was now letting off steady stream of light. "But Amphy gets quite sick often, and it saddens me that one day, he will leave this world for the afterlife."

"Okay, you're like ancient. Is the Ampharos that old, too?" He gave me a smile when I asked that, but he didn't answer. "I see, just ignore me..."

"Kid, be patient. Don't expect an old guy like me to respond instantly. I'm hard of hearing and even harder of thinking."

What was I supposed to say in response to that? He had just been brutally honest with me and my impatience. So I just asked a random question: "Is Amphy soft?"

"Depends on what your definition of soft is." He gestured for me to approach him and the Pokémon, who was still bleating and emitting light. "Just give him a little pet, okay?" I did exactly as he said and my fingers were soon filled with the warmth that the buzz of electricity could give them. "Feels funny, doesn't it?"

"My Mareep, well, I can't pet him. He tries to electrocute me whenever I do, and it's quite upsetting." I began stroking Amphy's neck, something that the Pokémon really seemed to like.

Pryce put his free hand on my shoulder. "You train a Mareep?"

"That I do, sir. My parents, who are certainly not dead, gave me him a few years ago. He's my lead Pokémon on my team." The old man smiled at me again, and I couldn't help but get the "warm fuzzies" on the inside. Was it his smile, though, or was it Amphy's electricity?

* * *

><p>"Listen, kid, I want you to stay at my Gym tonight," Pryce said to me as we were walking back to his apparent place of residence. "It gets very lonely there, and I would appreciate it if you would bring me some company."<p>

I didn't want to turn down his offer, because sleeping in a place with locks would be much safer than my previous choice, the Pokémon Center. "Sure thing, sir. I can do that for you. But, can I ask a question?"

"Go on ahead. I've got all the time in the world."

We were standing in front of the Gym now, and I was worried that he would take the question the wrong way, but I asked it anyway. "Why won't you fight me?"

"Because I wasn't sure if you were a Trainer that was pure at heart. I'm against the use of Pokémon as weapons, and I would have hated to have fought you if you were abusing your Pokémon. But you showed that you really do care about them, so I figured that I could give you some time of my day to let you carry on chasing your dream."

"You'll fight me?" I asked in shock at the turn of events. He nodded and laughed, unlocking the Gym's door so I could run inside, jumping with joy. "This is great!"

He calmed me down with a hand motion. "I understand that you're excited about getting to battle, but how are you going to beat me? You don't even know what type I use here."

"Electric, right?" I felt smart saying that, as if he was trying to demean me with his statement, but I was proven wrong when he opened a Pokéball in front of me, and a Steelix came out. "Oh, you use Steel, don't you?"

"It may be a new type, but I have found myself quite good with it. Are you ready to get your chance to get the Badge from me?

My eyes nearly bulging out of my skull, I said I was indeed ready and braced myself for the coming battle, one that I had learned a mighty lesson to even have. You see, Pryce taught me something that day. He taught me to respect everything. And no matter how much my journey had sucked up to that point, or no matter how much it would suck in the future, I would have him to thank for keeping me going.

* * *

><p>AN: I wrote over half of this as part of my 50,000 words in 30 days for November, also known as my half-NaNo (as I'm not noveling this year). And it came out great! :)

Pryce as Jasmine would be pretty cool, not gonna lie. The Ampharos backstory fits him pretty well, and I like it.

Please leave me some kind of feedback! Even if it's not a review, just a favorite or alert would rock!

I do not own this stuff at all. Sorry, folks.

Signel


	7. Mahogany: The Kind, Crippled Lady

After having suffered through six Gyms, I was about ready to quit my adventure. But two things kept me from doing that: the life of a quitter was not the life for me, and I was newly inspired by the whole "meeting Amphy" thing that had occurred in Olivine. So that was what had led me to Mahogany Town, where I was standing in front of the Gym, shivering.

The building I had just escaped from was freezing cold, and there was a lady in there who was laughing at something. It had been her laughter that had inspired me to go in, and it was still an intriguing matter to me. But it was so cold in there, I wasn't sure if I would survive long enough inside to find out what in Ho-Oh's name was so funny.

But that lady was in there, wasn't she? And she was surviving, right? Unless she was dying and I had just left her to die, then she definitely wasn't surviving. I grimaced at the thought of having to go back in there and save her, but I knew that my assistance was most likely needed, so I decided to put my temperature behind me and save the woman.

This was an experience very similar to the one I had in Ecruteak's Gym. I was stumbling through the place, not being possessed by a ghost but by a chill I had never felt before. It was very, very cold in there, and the floor was covered in ice, but I knew that the woman's life was at stake if I didn't get in there and rescue her.

Then again, when I want to do something nice for someone, it always comes around and bites me, as I kindly reminded myself with memories of Cianwood and all those children I had to watch in order to get my battle. But there were also times where my kindness rewarded me with something, like all the experience with Pryce in Olivine. I had done a good deed for the man by going to the Lighthouse with him, and in return, he gave me the strength to finish my journey.

That was that. I had to rescue the woman, get the spoils, and find the Leader so I could get my battle on. Boy, was I surprised when the room where the woman was had heat, and no ice floor, and nothing that would make it seem as if it was part of this desolate Gym. "What are you doing in my bedroom?" she hissed when she saw me. It was then and only then that I realized that she was perfectly fine, just lounging around in her bed and taking in some hilarious television. "This is not the place you want to be if you're looking for a challenge!"

My face fell. "Sorry, lady. I'll just go."

"No, man! Stay here! No one really comes around to visit me in here, so I'd enjoy your company!" She sat up, and revealed herself to be dressed in a skimpy little nightgown, before patting the bed next to her. "Sit here, and we can watch some shows while you warm up. Then we can go battle. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good, but I'm an eleven-year-old boy. I don't think a woman who's obviously much older than me needs to be acting all seductive towards me. Put some pants on." She glared at me, but did what I said. Happily, I joined her on the bed after that, because I did need to warm up, and what better way to warm up than to sit next to a beautiful woman?"

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder not long after I sat. "My name's Clair. Welcome to my lair of fun and games! I'm sorry you felt that I was trying to act 'seductive,' because I was really trying to be friendly! All the other Gym Leaders, except for Pryce, see me as a 'older sister' figure."

"Even Chuck?" She nodded. "Wow. He's got to be older than you."

"He is, believe me. But he's such a girl at heart."

I smiled at Clair, whose attention was on me. "I should tell you my name, shouldn't I? Well, I'm Shaun. And I'm a Trainer. I've got six Badges so far, and I'm looking forward to getting the last two that I need to go challenge the Elite Four."

"You've got two of us left? Wow." She cuddled closer to me, before jumping to her feet. "I'm pretty easy, actually, so you'll have no problems getting your seventh Badge, unless you use all Flying-type Pokémon like Falkner, or you don't have an adequate team for taking down Ice."

"I have a little something up my sleeve." It was the truth. My parents had surprised me years before by getting me an Arcanine from some man in Kanto, who didn't want it anymore. "I used it to defeat Pryce when I fought him."

She giggled. "Oh, let me guess. An Arcanine."

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Pryce told me. Him and I are really close. Like," she crossed her fingers, "this close."

That was interesting for me to hear. "So, do you associate with the other Leaders a lot, or is it just Pryce that you talk to?"

"I talk to them all the time. I just don't leave the Gym very often. Believe me, if I wanted to, I would march myself out to Cianwood to beat up on Morty a bit, before coming back here and never leaving again." I laughed and asked why she specifically called him out. "Oh, we're also really close. Not quite as close as we used to be, back before he got wrapped up in his Gym and I got wrapped up in mine, but we're still really close."

"Did you know that he makes all his challengers take care of his kids?"

I got a nod and another giggle from that. "I wouldn't be surprised if he does. He's quite the lazy guy, even though he's a Leader and all that. He should have gotten over his laziness by now, though. What, did he make you take care of the brats?" I told her that he had indeed done that, and she gasped. "That man needs to learn that kids do not take care of kids! I will have to call him later!"

"Uhm, Clair?" I asked, just for her to stare at me. "Are we going to have a battle or something today, or are we just going to sit here and talk about other people? I mean, I'm a big fan of gossip and all, and you're really cool, but I want to get really warmed up with a battle."

"We will have a battle later, kiddo! Just wait until my shows are over, and then we can do that!" I "zipped" my lips and sat there, just watching the television with her for hours upon hours. I think it was nearly dinnertime when she finally got up and actually got dressed (in a different room, because even though I was young, I was "too old and too smart" to watch her change).

Finally, when she was all ready to begin, she told me that I needed to go out into the Gym. "Why?" I asked. "I thought we were in the Gym already?"

"This is my bedroom, Shaun, and I am okay with battling anywhere in the world except for somewhere where my belongings can be destroyed." She shut the TV off and slowly walked through the door that I had come in through. It was while I watched her walk that I noticed something was wrong with her.

"Clair?" I ran to catch up with her and got in front of her, looking into her eyes. "Is there a reason why you don't leave your Gym?"

She nodded, and looked down. "Yeah, but it's not any of your business." As soon as she said that, she collapsed to the ground, with one of her legs just caving out from beneath her.

"D-do you need help? Are you hurt?" She told me that she would be fine, as long as I would go get her some sort of cane, which I did. Once she had the cane to lean up against, she was fine, and, for the first time on the entire journey, I felt like I didn't want to fight the Leader not because they had angered me, but because they were hurt.

"I'm waiting for you to challenge me, Shaun," she teased.

Even though I had those gentlemanly feelings at that moment, I knew that I had gotten her hopes up for a fun fight, and mine were up there too. I had to go through with the battle, even if my heart wouldn't be in it.


	8. Blackthorn: The Meaniehead Woman

This was it. I had just one Gym left, and then I was done with all eight of them. Never before had I been so excited for a goal that I had been fighting so hard to achieve! It was a breath of fresh air when I thought about it; nothing could be worse than the seven previous Gyms. Before I went overboard with my excitement, though, I had a little bit of reminiscing about everything I'd already been through.

As weird as it sounded, I missed back when life was easy, and I was just starting out on my journey, going to fight Falkner. He was a pretty cool dude, with the birds and the romance and the friends and the rival. Bugsy, to me, was just a tad creepy, and his obsession with Chuck made him all the more weird in my opinion. Speaking of Chuck, he wasn't really a girl like he thought he was. I don't think girls of any age can grow to such sizes and maintain facial hair quite as extravagant as his was.

But then I remembered the haunting experience in Whitney's Gym (and her pretty creepy boyfriend who basically wanted me dead). And that brought back the memories of Morty and his multitudes of children, followed by Pryce and his Pokémon fetish. None of those people were particularly skilled at being good memory-makers, but the three of them had taught me many a lesson, and I was quite thankful for the lesson Pryce taught me in the Lighthouse.

Finally, the most recent of all the battles was the one against Clair, the kind lady who had passed herself off as an interesting woman, just to reveal that she was the most flawed out of all the Leaders up to that point. I had no idea what this last Gym would hold, and I was scared to find out. I knew the Leader's name, which was Jasmine, due to the process of elimination I had been doing with that severely incorrect list of names.

I took a deep breath before stepping into that Gym. I knew it was my last one, so what was I so scared about? Jasmine sounded like a nice name, so she had to be a nice person, right?

Couldn't have been more wrong. Within five seconds of entering, I was being yelled at. "Who the hell are you?" this brunette lady asked me, pointing a spindly finger at me. "What are you doing in here? Little punks like you do not belong in my Gym!"

"A-are you Jasmine?" I warily said, scared for another verbal lashing, which I definitely got.

"Damn right I am! And I'm not here to babysit you, punk! Don't even try to tell me that you're a Trainer, and that you've challenged all the previous Leaders. If you do, I swear on my life that I will burn you alive."

I gulped. "I didn't just challenge them. I beat them."

"Oh really? Tell me, kid, how did you manage that? You look barely old enough to be out of diapers, let alone traveling Johto!"

"I managed that thanks to my awesome team of companions. I don't think you'd understand. You seem like the kind of lady who would use her Pokémon as elements of torture, not as friends and comrades." How smart I sounded, and I was only eleven!

She glared at me. "You sound just like that idiot Lance. Why do all guys preach at me about kindness and treating my Pokémon with it? I just want power, damn it!"

"I want a Badge from you, miss Jasmine. Could you please treat me with enough respect to give me the battle I desire, so I can get that Badge and go to the Elite Four?"

At that, she guffawed. "You? Fight the Elite Four? Listen here, kid: you'll never be able to lay a scratch on them. You're too young! You have no idea what battling for real means, and how are you going to defeat the five best people in Johto if you don't know how to truly fight?"

"Truly fight? I've got seven Badges. I think I, out of all people, would know how to fight anyone. Who do you think you are, telling me I don't know how to fight?"

"I'm the cousin of the Champion. I'm the greatest of the Johto Leaders. But you know what? My power is outranked by all the other 'last' Leaders in different regions!" She flipped her long brown hair, which was neatly kept in a ponytail. "Before you start talking big, think about that. Our Elites are just as strong as others', but ours are prefaced by eight incredibly weak Leaders. So what if you end up beating me? You're still weak."

I could have sworn that I was seeing red. How dare this woman accuse me of being weak? "I'll show you weak!" I hissed, before whipping out the Pokéball I knew contained Mareep. "I'll show you just how weak I really am!"

Yeah, bad idea.

I should have learned one thing before I ran into battle so foolishly: what type Jasmine used.

Did _not_ expect to be given the smack down by a Dragon.

The thing is, I should have expected it. I knew Blackthorn was the Dragon city, and I knew that Lance, the Champion, used the type. But nothing connected. And I lost.

But, when someone so bent on victory loses, they come up with a way to retaliate. My way just so happened to involve going to the Pokémon Center and taking out the first Pokémon I could think of that could be of use, which just so happened to be the Dewgong I traded for with Clair. No, I didn't do anything weird for her. She just wanted this really cool Snorunt that I had, and I decided to give it to her in exchange for the Dewgong.

Had I known that Dewgong would have been useful at Jasmine's Gym, I would have brought it. As soon as I knew it was a Dragon Gym, though, I knew it would be perfect. Ice is great against Dragon, after all. And that's what I did to get my last Badge.

Oh, wait, there's still more to my run-in with Jasmine, believe me. It was right after the second challenge, right after I beat her fair and square, that she started yelling at me again. "You're still weak, you idiot!"

"Don't call me weak. Ever." I was putting away my Dewgong, and I looked at her. "I'm young, yes. Inexperienced, yes. But weak? I am stronger than Falkner, Bugsy, Chuck, Whitney, Morty, Pryce, Clair, and you! How can you call me weak after all of that?"

"Hm, let me think. Falkner's a pushover, Bugsy's a pansy, Chuck is too obsessed with his little girls to seriously care about battling, Whitney has no backbone and relies on Eusine way too much, Morty's just bad at his job, Pryce is senile, and Clair is a crippled woman! I'm the strongest, and I've still got a lot to learn to even be at the same level as the Elite Four...and my cousin Lance."

I was watching her as she said all of that, and after each name, her face fell more and more, until she was nearly in tears. "It's okay, Jasmine. I'm sorry that I beat you. Would it make you feel better if I just didn't go to the League?"

"No, go if you really want to! I'm just not going to listen to you cry when they beat you down with no regrets."

That wasn't what gave me the brilliant idea to train more before going to fight the League, but it was part of my decision. The thing was, I had been debating whether or not I was actually going to go for it or not ever since I had battled Chuck. That was when my entire thought process about the journey had changed, after all. I was raised to believe one thing, but when I started chasing the goal, I found that nearly everything I was taught was a lie. The last thing I wanted was to be extremely disappointed when I got to the League and saw everything there wasn't as I had been told it was.

When I thought about the list some more, I knew I needed to ask someone about it. It was the reason for me even going on this journey, and it was flawed. So why was it so wrong?

The answer I got was in, of all places, Goldenrod City. I went back there maybe two years after the Jasmine encounter, just to see if Cresta was still hanging around. She was, and when I saw her, I started smiling like a mad man. "Cresta!" I gleefully shouted upon seeing her.

"Shaun? Is that really you?"

"It is! Are you still working at the Gym?"

She nodded eagerly. "Sure am! Big brother Chuck takes great care of me! How are you? Did you ever become Champion?"

"No, but that's okay. I didn't really want it anymore after I came here the first time. Having your world turned upside down by a big guy with a bunch of girls really does a number on you." I pulled out the ragged list at that point. "Remember when we first met, and I asked you about Whitney?"

"I do, actually. Why did you do that?"

That was when I showed her the list. "This is how I was taught the Leaders went. Isn't that weird?"

"Actually, it really is! I've been blessed to meet all the Leaders myself, and I just cannot seem them being all switched around like that." From her pocket, she pulled out a Badge case and opened it, revealing all eight of the Johto Badges. "I honestly believe that if Jasmine had a heart, she wouldn't be taking care of a blind Ampharos."

"Or that Whitney would be social enough to hang around other girls?"

Cresta laughed at that, and agreed with me. "Chuck wouldn't be able to handle having all those kids, anyway. And could you see Morty being with another guy? I mean, ew! He's too much into women to fall for a man."

"I don't think Clair possesses a mean bone in her body." I grinned, thinking about my blue-haired woman friend in Mahogany Town. "Also, Pryce may be old, but I don't think capable of being icy and shut-in from people." As she had before, Cresta completely agreed with me, and started asking more questions about how my life had gone.

I answered each and every one of them faithfully. For each answer I gave, she told me something she had learned about one of the Leaders, before diving into another question. The more she told me, the more I was convinced that the list could not be true, not even in an alternate universe.

I liked things in Johto just the way they were.

* * *

><p>AN: This story has come to a close. My corruption of the Johto Gym Leaders is finally complete. Thanks for all who read and enjoyed it. I know I had a lot of fun writing this. :)

But if you liked the corruption, I'm going to be posting another story that's got the same premise but totally different characters and a completely different story. If you love Hoenn, you'd want to check out my tweaked version of their Leaders. :D It'll be up sometime soon, don't worry.

For now, though, I leave you with this: I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Shaun. And I would appreciate your reviews on how much you liked/disliked this story.

Thanks, and goodbye for now!

Signel


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